The Human Emperor

Chapter 2255: Victory in the Northeast! The Realm Rejoices!

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

Several days later...

The capital of the Great Tang was covered in a blanket of silver, and the roofs of the homes were piled high with thick snow, thick icicles hanging from the eaves. The capital had been transformed into a completely different world.

The crisscrossing streets of the capital were all empty.

Heaven and earth were still, all things quiet. This was an empty and abandoned world!

In this frozen world, the nearly one million inhabitants of the capital were huddled in the cellars they had dug out beneath their homes, quietly waiting. Never had this sort of thing happened in the capital of an empire.

But in the southeast corner of the capital, amidst the snowstorm, a figure stood in a pavilion and silently looked toward the northeast.

Whoosh!

A snow eagle flew out of the snowstorm. The Tang horseman raised his head in shock, extending his arm in disbelief to receive the eagle.

“This is a report from the northeast!”

The horseman was flabbergasted.

He had been waiting here for several days. In this ice-covered world, he was perhaps the only person standing outside in the entire capital, quietly waiting for the news.

In this sort of endless waiting, each second felt like an epoch.

There was nothing here besides snow and wind, and the same scene of blinding whiteness could be seen wherever one looked.

He was used to this sort of waiting, used to day after day without a result. He had never expected news to arrive from the northeast at this time.

“The northeast... Victory?” the horseman softly muttered, and then he shouted in glee. “Victory in the northeast!”

He mounted his horse and made for the Imperial Palace like a madman.

“Victory in the northeast!

“Victory in the northeast!”

The hooves stirred up snow as the horseman galloped through the city, his excited bellows resounding through the streets.

The white capital was at first quiet, the only sound the howling of the wind, but chattering voices soon began to emerge from the buildings lining the road.

“What? Victory in the northeast? The Great Tang won?”

“The King of Foreign Lands really did succeed!”

Windows were pushed open, and heads large and small peeked into the snowstorm. In this frigid weather, their brows, hair, and beards were all covered in white layers of frost, and not even the children were spared, but their faces were flushed red with excitement.

Bang!

Soon, the conversation on both sides turned into heaven-shaking cheers.

Matters regarding the war and the northeast normally only needed to be reported to the Imperial Court so that the officials could know. But Li Heng had pushed for this pavilion to be built in the southeast corner of the capital so that everyone in the capital would know about any reports from Youzhou before they arrived at the Imperial Palace.

Li Heng had explained that with the empire in crisis, it was necessary that all of society be united and of one mind, that this news should not be hidden from the common folk.

Only when everyone worked together toward a common goal would the empire be able to weather this crisis and any future crises to come.

Only with this mentality could the Great Tang truly achieve a long and prosperous peace.

Gallop!

Amidst the cheering, the horseman rode into the lofty Imperial Palace.

Within Taihe Palace, square cauldrons burned. Li Heng sat upon his throne, his expression tired, and many officials were assembled before him.

There was no sound besides the crackling of the coal fires.

The entire world had been sealed in ice, and the enormous machine that was the Great Tang had stopped. There was nothing to discuss in Taihe Palace, but Li Heng had still summoned all his officials.

This had been the case since the beginning of the war in the northeast.

The empire’s fate had already come to rest entirely on this war. If the Great Tang were victorious, its peace and prosperity would continue, but if it were defeated... everything would cease to exist.

Suddenly, the doors flew open, and a horseman covered in snow rushed in.

“Your Majesty, victory in the northeast!”

Whoooah!

At the messenger’s voice, all the officials instantly opened their eyes with excitement on their faces.

“Victory in the northeast? Truly?”

All of them were overcome with excitement. They had waited for what seemed like countless days and nights precisely for this news.

“Bring it up. Let Us see!” A voice came from above. Li Heng had bolted up from his throne, his expression just as brimming with excitement.

“Wonderful! Wonderful!

“King of Foreign Lands, We truly did not misjudge you!”

As Li Heng read the report of victory that had been personally written by Wang Chong, his elation could be fully heard in his voice.

He had barely gotten a moment’s rest while waiting within Taihe Palace, and it had all been for this moment.

“Pass on Our decree! Ring the bells!” Li Heng sternly said.

Bong!

A few moments later, snow rustled to the ground as a giant bronze bell on the southeastern walls of the Imperial City fiercely trembled. Its deafening boom resounded across the capital, refusing to be drowned out even by the snowstorm.

This was a bell that Li Heng had specifically commissioned for this war. When this bell rang, it meant that the war in the northeast that would decide the fate of the empire had resulted in a complete victory for the Great Tang.

Bong! Bong! Bong!

Bong! Bong! Bong!

Bong! Bong! Bong!

The booming tone of the bell resounded again and again through the capital.

Bang!

At first, only those people near the Imperial Palace could hear the bell, causing them to poke their heads out of their houses. But as the bell rang again and again, more people heard it and began to cheer, and by the end, everyone in the capital had heard the news and wildly cheered.

“King of Foreign Lands!”

“King of Foreign Lands!”

“King of Foreign Lands!”

The silent and seemingly deserted capital had come to life. Countless people cheered, some of them even leaving their homes to rush onto the streets and ecstatically celebrate.

Even though the temperature was extremely cold outside, their joy for the victory had drowned out all other concerns.

At this moment, Wang Chong’s name was destined to join the Great Tang in the annals of history!

......

At the same time, at the City of Steel in the northwest...

“Kiiill!”

Frenzied war cries resounded across the walls. The war in the northeast had concluded, but intense fighting persisted at the City of Steel in the northwest. And unlike in the northeast, the Great Tang forces in the City of Steel were in dire straits.

“For Ü-Tsang!”

The Tibetan cavalry ceaselessly charged forward and scaled the walls. It was difficult to imagine that these nomadic people who had lived their lives on horseback would still be such fierce fighters when off their horses and fighting on the walls, even surpassing many of the Great Tang’s infantry.

In the space of a few short months, Dalon Trinling had managed to train a division of soldiers specifically in scaling walls. They could use ropes to scale walls almost as if they had been born to do so and were fearless in battle, completely catching the Tang by surprise.

The high walls of the City of Steel were completely useless against this division!

And this was far from the only concern facing the Tang army within the City of Steel...

Rumble!

A great rumble came from the southeast, and a part of the walls suddenly collapsed, creating an enormous gap through which large numbers of snow-covered Tibetan cavalry immediately charged.

In the center of the City of Steel, atop the highest observation platform, Young Master Qingyang, Li Junxian, and Barshad looked around with nasty scowls on their faces.

“We all underestimated him. This Imperial Minister of Ü-Tsang is far more difficult to deal with than we imagined. If this continues, it won’t be half a day until the City of Steel is lost!” Li Junxian said with a bitter smile.

This elegant and handsome leader of the Confucian Sect had long ago lost his bearing and grace. His snow-white Confucian robe was covered in blood and tears, and one could tell from those gruesome wounds that he had been in a terrifying battle.

This battle had been extremely taxing. Whether it was Li Junxian, Young Master Qingyang, Barshad, or Duwu Sili and Jiudu Fuluo, they had all been badly injured.

It had been a far more difficult battle than they had imagined.

Barshad’s breathing was ragged as he shook his head and bitterly said, “There’s nothing to be done. Dalon Trinling is just too formidable. When it comes to strategy, not even the three of us together can match him. Probably only the King of Foreign Lands would be able to deal with him!”

His Western Turkic soldiers had suffered grievous losses, forcing him to realize that Dalon Trinling was far more frightening than he had anticipated.

Barshad had always believed that Dalon Trinling, no matter how formidable he was, had to have a limit, but he was no longer so naive.

Dalon Trinling was a tiger, a tiger that had withdrawn its claws, a terrifying monster that had been resting at their side this entire time.

He had previously not made a move merely so that the other countries would forget about this fierce beast lurking at their side. When he revealed his claws and began his assault, he became a ferocious monster that few people could fathom. In truth, Barshad found it a miracle that they had managed to hold out this long.

It was fortunate that they had Wang Chong’s City of Steel. Barshad did not even dare to imagine what would have happened if they had faced Dalon Trinling on the open field.

“Reporting!”

As the three of them conversed, a messenger rushed up to the observation platform with panicked footsteps.

“Milord, the southwest is in danger! General Duan has sent word that he can no longer hold the gap! Milords, please dispatch reinforcements at once!”

Buzz!

The three of them trembled in shock at this report, bitter expressions on their faces.

“It seems that it won’t even be half a day. The City of Steel will fall in a few hours.”

Li Junxian scowled.

Emergencies were cropping up on all sides, and they had already sent out all the reinforcements they could send. A lack of reinforcements meant that the City of Steel could fall at any moment.